11 Disturbing Things I've Learned About the 'Freebirth' Movement

Being an enthusiastic natural birth proponent, I'm a member of a good number of Facebook groups for moms interested in natural birth. In one of the home birth groups I'm a member of, women began to discuss having an "unassisted birth" (also known as a "freebirth"). My interest piqued by craziness on the Internet, I did a quick Google search (don't look at the Wikipedia page if you're at work or around wandering eyes). An unassisted birth is just what it sounds like: a birth, usually at home, alone or with one's partner, not attended by a professional midwife or doctor. If you're thinking "Boy, that sounds dangerous!" you're right. A leading blogger of the "Freebirth" movement in Australia, Janet Fraser, buried her stillborn baby girl in 2009. The baby in all likelihood would have been born totally healthy had she had a home birth attended by a licensed midwife or in a hospital with a doctor and nurses present. The death spurred an inquest in which the coroner concluded "the child had died because the only people she had elected to be present at the birth -- her partner and her best friend -- could not deal with the complications of a cord entanglement." That birth story, which happened in March 2009, has never appeared on the Joyous Birth website, still run by Fraser.

This case is an extreme example of members of this movement of women who, for any number of reasons, plan to have their children without the assistance of medical professionals. Being an super professional journalist absolute voyeur, I joined every Facebook group I could find on Unassisted Birth to give you insight into these women and their motivations. Here are some things I learned, in list form, of course:

1. Money Is a Factor

Not surprisingly, many women in the group explain that they are having an unassisted birth because they cannot afford to have a midwife attendant at their home birth. Most home birth midwives' services aren't covered by insurance and none are covered by Medicaid, leaving women with the choice of a hospital birth or an unattended one. Others state that they have no medical insurance, which would make an out -of-pocket hospital birth astronomically expensive for even a middle class family. The United States is the most costly place to give birth in the world, with the average vaginal birth clocking in at $30,000 and the average C-section costing $50,000.